San Diego

The San Diego City Council on Tuesday approved a controversial design contest to build a $242.3-million civic center.

The council voted, 5-2, to use a “design-develop” competition, which pairs architects with developers early in the selection process and would award the project to the best team. The contest, which will cost an estimated $693,000, is intended to help the city avoid cost overruns experienced with the $160-million convention center.

At a public hearing before the vote, several architects had expressed concern that the design-develop contest would give complete control to the developer.

Many said they preferred the traditional selection process, in which a winning design is chosen first and then put out for public bid by developers and contractors. They cautioned that there is no guarantee that the design-build process will prevent cost overruns.